Niwot Criterium 1of4, originally uploaded by steve_mitchener.

So to go along with my boycott of riding bicycles. I went out and photographed people riding theirs. This was the Colorado State Championships of Criterum and did not disapoint. Twas no where near as large as the Bannock Street races but the energy was high. (and i found a good place to drink beer on course) I paid some attention to the 35+ race which we showed for the end of, and Michael Gibson won it as he did last year. Then took it easy through the pro women’s class and then drank beer through the 3s and then made some halfed ass photos of the pro 1/2 class. The highlight of the race was laying in corner one and having Garmin’s Danny Summerhil nearly decapitate me. So much for the laying down for the good angle as the riders hang over you, they get pushed to the sidewalk and all bets are off. I wish I would have got a picture of the chainring as it nearly rolled over the lens but oh’well. Hope I didn’t slow his accelerartion up to much. Enough for now, I should have another illustration from this race up on Etsy, if I luck out with some developing.

It’s funny because it makes fun of hipsters…They’ve got to understand that they’re funny right?

Borrowed this one from Urban Velo, one of the best sites on the interweb…

Mt Ventoux 2006(Archives) (3 of 7), originally uploaded by steve_mitchener.

Pulling one from the archives. I talk about this ride to about any one who will listen. This is the epitome of a climb on a road bicycle. I did this climb as part of a ride from our camp near Vaison La Romaine France. I pedaled through the freaking most amazing areas in France which is the Haut Provence region. To Bedoin, across the silver line in the road and then up. Warning from the French riders I was pedaling with from Malaucene, 3kms then boom. What is boom i ask; B O O M! it meant. 3 kms of nice up hill pedaling and then boom in the trees to Chatalet Renard, then crap…. It gets steep there. The Mistral comes in and the road turns from the paltry 6-7% to 7-18% (in the corners). An amazing pedal, I stopped and photographed along the way (had no choice) and then descended back to Malaucene for 115-120kms that day. Twas a good day. Click the photo to go to my Flickr account to see more pics.

So i’ve now spent more time in the Colorado high country than I have in 5 years combined. Saturday and Sunday we spent some time just north of Buena Vista in the Arkansas River Headwaters area. So nice… Let me tell ya.

Saturday Night Supper, boy oh boy were those some tasty dogs, toasty grilled over a nice fire…

The view of Mt. Princeton from our campground

An HDR photo of an old fence by our camp.

In different news Michelle and Margot made the paper this Saturday with their thriftyness.

Apparently saving a dime is now popular…hmmm…Why buy used when a 4 year old from Cambodia can make you something nice that Walmart will sell to you? Different strokes for different folks i suppose. I wouldn’t want the Walmart people bringing down the quality of my local thrift stores and garbage dumpsters. Anyway. All for now…Cheers

Bike Race Illustration, originally uploaded by steve_mitchener.

I have been working on trying to make an honest buck at this photograph making thing and I’ve started a little store at Etsy. (It’s not just for crafty ladies from Portland with some skills and a knitting needle) Prices are 15-100 bucks depending on what size and print type you want. I’ll even sign it and send it to you for a minimal charge.

Check out the work and buy one for you and your cousin. I need to eat, i’m hungry. Or just enjoy and let me know what you think.

Cheers

Bannock Street Crits (4 of 4), originally uploaded by steve_mitchener.

Went down to the big city to see some racing on Sunday. Only stayed long enough to watch the fast old men in the 35+ Open class fly through the streets of Denver.
The D70 was failing me something awful, or I was failing me something terrible. The auto focus and exposure were jacked through the day and the color sucked eggs. So like any photographer that can’t take good pictures, I added noise, distortion and vignetting and made them “art”. This one is a clip of the peleton chasing the lead 3 riders which would end up staying away the rest of the race. Michael Gibson ended up in third…

Bye Pumpkins, you’ll be missed come autumn.., originally uploaded by steve_mitchener.

Decimated pumpkin patch.
We would have had squash for the entire winter, even after a solid day at the farmers market selling these delectable beauties.
O’well, that’s how the squash blossom is killed.

So the summer garden is gone…It was time for the fall veggies to go in any way. I do have a bunch more photos to post surrounding this mess but I’m too lazy to post them. I’m uber busy with the real job that pays the bills now. I’ll get back to the bicycle shots for now as I have no botanics in the yard any more so you’ll be seeing more soon, I promise.